1 .\" Copyright (c) 2009 Marco Peereboom <marco@peereboom.us>
2 .\" Copyright (c) 2009 Darrin Chandler <dwchandler@stilyagin.com>
4 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
5 .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
6 .\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
8 .\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
9 .\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
10 .\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
11 .\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
12 .\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
13 .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
14 .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
16 .Dd $Mdocdate: January 12 2011 $
21 .Nd window manager for X11
26 is a minimalistic window manager that tries to stay out of the way so that
27 valuable screen real estate can be used for much more important stuff.
28 It has sane defaults and does not require one to learn a language to do any
30 It was written by hackers for hackers and it strives to be small, compact and
35 starts up, it reads settings from its configuration file,
38 .Sx CONFIGURATION FILES
41 The following notation is used throughout this page:
43 .Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
57 is very simple in its use.
58 Most of the actions are initiated via key or mouse bindings.
61 section below for defaults and customizations.
62 .Sh CONFIGURATION FILES
64 first tries to open the user specific file,
66 If that file is unavailable,
67 it then tries to open the global configuration file
68 .Pa /etc/scrotwm.conf .
70 The format of the file is \*(Ltkeyword\*(Gt = \*(Ltsetting\*(Gt.
75 Enabling or disabling an option is done by using 1 or 0 respectively.
77 The file supports the following keywords:
80 Launch an application in a specified workspace at start-of-day.
81 Defined in the format ws[<idx>]:application, e.g. ws[2]:xterm launches an
84 Border color of the currently focussed window.
86 Border color of unfocussed windows.
88 Enable or disable status bar.
89 .It Ic bar_border Ns Bq Ar x
90 Color of the status bar border in screen
92 .It Ic bar_border_width
93 Set status bar border thickness in pixels.
94 Disable border by setting to 0.
95 .It Ic bar_color Ns Bq Ar x
96 Color of the status bar window in screen
98 .It Ic bar_font_color Ns Bq Ar x
99 Color of the font in status bar in screen
104 External script that populates additional information in the status bar,
105 such as battery life.
107 Update frequency, in seconds, of external script that populates the status bar.
109 Place the statusbar at the bottom of each region instead of the top.
111 Justify the status bar text. Possible values are
117 Enable or disable displaying the current stacking algorithm in the status bar.
119 Enable or disable displaying the clock in the status bar.
120 Disable by setting to 0
121 so a custom clock could be used in the
125 Some applications have dialogue windows that are too small to be useful.
126 This ratio is the screen size to what they will be resized.
127 For example, 0.6 is 60% of the physical screen size.
128 .It Ic keyboard_mapping
129 Clear all key bindings and load new key bindings from the specified file.
130 This allows you to load pre-defined key bindings for your keyboard layout.
132 .Sx KEYBOARD MAPPING FILES
133 section below for a list of keyboard mapping files that have been provided
134 for several keyboard layouts.
136 Select layout to use at start-of-day.
137 Defined in the format
138 ws[idx]:master_grow:master_add:stack_inc:layout:always_raise:stack_mode, e.g.
139 ws[2]:-4:0:1:0:horizontal sets worskspace 2 to the horizontal stack mode and
140 shrinks the master area by 4 ticks and adds one window to the stack, while
141 maintaining default floating window behavior.
142 Possible stack_mode values are
157 for more information.
158 Note that the stacking options are complicated and have side-effects.
159 One should familiarize oneself with these commands before experimenting with the
163 This setting is not retained at restart.
165 Allocates a custom region, removing any autodetected regions which occupy the same
167 Defined in the format screen[<idx>]:WIDTHxHEIGHT+X+Y,
168 e.g.\& screen[1]:800x1200+0+0.
170 To make a screen span multiple monitors, create a region big enough to cover
171 them all, e.g. screen[1]:2048x768+0+0 makes the screen span two monitors with
172 1024x768 resolution sitting one next to the other.
174 Set a preferred minimum width for the terminal.
175 If this value is greater than 0,
177 will attempt to adjust the font sizes in the terminal to keep the terminal
178 width above this number as the window is resized.
181 is currently supported.
184 binary must not be setuid or setgid, which it is by default on most systems.
185 Users may need to set program[term] (see the
187 section) to use an alternate copy of the
189 binary without the setgid bit set.
190 .It Ic title_class_enabled
191 Enable or disable displaying the window class in the status bar.
192 Enable by setting to 1.
193 .It Ic title_name_enabled
194 Enable or disable displaying the window title in the status bar.
195 Enable by setting to 1.
196 .It Ic urgent_enabled
197 Enable or disable the urgency hint.
198 Note that many terminal emulators require this to be enabled for it to
200 In xterm, for example, one needs to add the following line
201 .Pa xterm.urgentOnBell: true
204 .It Ic window_name_enabled
205 Enable or disable displaying the window name in the status bar.
206 Enable by setting to 1.
207 .It Ic verbose_layout
208 Enable or disable displaying the current master and stack values in the status
210 Enable by setting to 1.
213 Mod1 is generally the ALT key and Mod4 is the windows key on a PC.
217 will make the window manager focus the window
218 under the mouse when switching workspaces and creating windows.
219 .It Ic disable_border
220 Remove border when bar is disabled and there is only one window on the screen.
222 Set window border thickness in pixels.
223 Disable all borders by setting to 0.
224 .It Ic program Ns Bq Ar p
225 Define new action to spawn a program
230 .It Ic bind Ns Bq Ar x
231 Bind key combo to action
236 .It Ic quirk Ns Bq Ar c:n
237 Add "quirk" for windows with class
246 Colors need to be specified per the
248 specification and fonts need to be specified per the
252 To list the available fonts in your system see
259 application can help you to show the X Logical Font Description ("XLFD") used
260 as setting in the keyword
264 allows you to define custom actions to launch programs of your choice and then
265 bind them the same as with built-in actions.
270 The default programs are described below:
272 .Bl -tag -width "screenshot_wind" -offset indent -compact
275 .It Cm screenshot_all
277 .It Cm screenshot_wind
284 dmenu_run \-fn $bar_font \-nb $bar_color \-nf $bar_font_color \-sb $bar_border \-sf $bar_color
287 Custom programs in the configuration file are specified as follows:
289 .Dl program[<name>] = <progpath> [<arg> [... <arg>]]
292 is any identifier that does not conflict with a built-in action or keyword,
294 is the desired program, and
296 is zero or more arguments to the program.
298 The following variables represent settable values in
301 .Sx CONFIGURATION FILES
303 and may be used in the
305 fields and will be substituted for values at the time the program is spawned:
307 .Bl -tag -width "$bar_font_color" -offset indent -compact
311 .It Cm $bar_font_color
313 .It Cm $color_unfocus
317 .Bd -literal -offset indent
318 program[ff] = /usr/local/bin/firefox http://scrotwm.org/
319 bind[ff] = Mod+Shift+b # Now Mod+Shift+B launches firefox
322 To undo the previous:
323 .Bd -literal -offset indent
329 provides many functions (or actions) accessed via key or mouse bindings.
331 The current mouse bindings are described below:
333 .Bl -tag -width "M-j, M-<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
341 Resize window while maintaining it centered
344 The default key bindings are described below:
346 .Bl -tag -width "M-j, M-<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
347 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Return
355 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Space
357 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Space
371 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Return
380 .Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm TAB
397 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Ar n
399 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Right
401 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Left
403 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Up
405 .It Cm M- Ns Aq Cm Down
409 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Right
411 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Left
421 .It Cm M-S- Ns Aq Cm Delete
457 The action names and descriptions are listed below:
459 .Bl -tag -width "M-j, M-<TAB>XXXX" -offset indent -compact
485 Add windows to master area.
487 Remove windows from master area.
489 Add columns/rows to stacking area.
491 Remove columns/rows from stacking area.
493 Move current window to master area.
495 Focus next window in workspace.
497 Focus previous window in workspace.
499 Focus on main window in workspace.
501 Swap with next window in workspace.
503 Swap with previous window in workspace.
505 Toggle status bar in all workspaces.
507 Delete current window in workspace.
509 Destroy current window in workspace.
517 Move current window to workspace
523 Switch to next workspace with a window in it.
525 Switch to previous workspace with a window in it.
527 Switch to next workspace.
529 Switch to previous workspace.
531 Switch to last visited workspace.
533 Move pointer to next region.
535 Move pointer to previous region.
536 .It Cm screenshot_all
537 Take screenshot of entire screen (if enabled)
541 .It Cm screenshot_wind
542 Take screenshot of selected window (if enabled)
547 Toggle version in status bar.
549 Toggle focused window between tiled and floating.
556 Reinitialize physical screens
561 Minimize (unmap) currently focused window.
563 Maximize (map) window returned by dmenu selection.
565 When set tiled windows are allowed to obscure floating windows.
567 Fake a middle mouse button click (mouse button 2).
569 Shrink the width of a floating window.
571 Grow the width of a floating window.
573 Shrink the height of a floating window.
575 Grow the height of a floating window.
577 Move a floating window a step to the left.
579 Move a floating window a step to the right.
581 Move a floating window a step upwards.
583 Move a floating window a step downwards.
584 .It Cm name_workspace
585 Name the current workspace.
586 .It Cm search_workspace
587 Search for a workspace.
589 Search the windows in the current workspace.
592 Custom bindings in the configuration file are specified as follows:
594 .Dl bind[<action>] = <keys>
597 is one of the actions listed above (or empty) and
599 is in the form of zero or more modifier keys
600 (MOD, Mod1, Shift, etc.) and one or more normal keys
601 (b, space, etc.), separated by "+".
603 .Bd -literal -offset indent
604 bind[reset] = Mod4+q # bind Windows-key + q to reset
605 bind[] = Mod1+q # unbind Alt + q
608 Multiple key combinations may be bound to the same action.
609 .Sh KEYBOARD MAPPING FILES
610 Keyboard mapping files for several keyboard layouts are listed
612 These files can be used with the
614 setting to load pre-defined key bindings for the specified
617 .Bl -tag -width "scrotwm_XX.confXXX" -offset indent -compact
618 .It Cm scrotwm_cz.conf
619 Czech Republic keyboard layout
620 .It Cm scrotwm_es.conf
621 Spanish keyboard layout
622 .It Cm scrotwm_fr.conf
623 French keyboard layout
624 .It Cm scrotwm_fr_ch.conf
625 Swiss French keyboard layout
626 .It Cm scrotwm_se.conf
627 Swedish keyboard layout
628 .It Cm scrotwm_us.conf
629 United States keyboard layout
633 provides "quirks" which handle windows that must be treated specially
634 in a tiling window manager, such as some dialogs and fullscreen apps.
636 The default quirks are described below:
638 .Bl -tag -width "OpenOffice.org N.M:VCLSalFrame<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
639 .It Firefox\-bin:firefox\-bin
646 FLOAT + FULLSCREEN + FOCUSPREV
647 .It OpenOffice.org 2.4:VCLSalFrame
649 .It OpenOffice.org 3.1:VCLSalFrame
657 .It xine:xine Video Fullscreen Window
667 The quirks themselves are described below:
669 .Bl -tag -width "XTERM_FONTADJ<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
671 This window should not be tiled, but allowed to float freely.
673 Adjusts size on transient windows that are too small using dialog_ratio
675 .Sx CONFIGURATION FILES ) .
677 Allow window to position itself, uncentered.
679 Adjust xterm fonts when resizing.
681 Remove border to allow window to use full screen size.
683 On exit force focus on previously focused application not previous application
687 Custom quirks in the configuration file are specified as follows:
689 .Dl quirk[<class>:<name>] = <quirk> [ + <quirk> ... ]
694 specify the window to which the quirk(s) apply, and
696 is one of the quirks from the list above.
698 .Bd -literal -offset indent
699 quirk[MPlayer:xv] = FLOAT + FULLSCREEN + FOCUSPREV
700 quirk[pcb:pcb] = NONE # remove existing quirk
707 by running xprop(1) and then clicking on the desired window.
708 In the following example the main window of Firefox was clicked:
709 .Bd -literal -offset indent
710 $ xprop | grep WM_CLASS
711 WM_CLASS(STRING) = "Navigator", "Firefox"
714 Note that grepping for WM_CLASS flips class and name.
715 In the example above the quirk entry would be:
716 .Bd -literal -offset indent
717 quirk[Firefox:Navigator] = FLOAT
721 also automatically assigns quirks to windows based on the value
722 of the window's _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE property as follows:
724 .Bl -tag -width "_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_TOOLBAR<TAB>XXX" -offset indent -compact
725 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DOCK
727 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_TOOLBAR
729 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_UTILITY
731 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_SPLASH
733 .It _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DIALOG
737 In all other cases, no automatic quirks are assigned to the window.
738 Quirks specified in the configuration file override the automatic quirks.
741 partially implements the Extended Window Manager Hints (EWMH) specification.
742 This enables controlling windows as well as
744 itself from external scripts and programs.
747 responding to certain ClientMessage events.
748 From the terminal these events
749 can be conveniently sent using tools such as
754 actual format of these ClientMessage events, see the EWMH specification.
756 The id of the currently focused window is stored in the _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW
757 property of the root window.
758 This can be used for example to retrieve the
759 title of the currently active window with
763 .Bd -literal -offset indent
764 $ WINDOWID=`xprop \-root _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW | grep \-o "0x.*"`
765 $ xprop \-id $WINDOWID WM_NAME | grep \-o "\\".*\\""
768 A window can be focused by sending a _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW client message
773 (assuming 0x4a0000b is the id of the window to be focused):
774 .Bd -literal -offset indent
775 $ wmctrl \-i \-a 0x4a0000b
778 Windows can be closed by sending a _NET_CLOSE_WINDOW client message
783 (assuming 0x4a0000b is the id of the window to be closed):
784 .Bd -literal -offset indent
785 $ wmctrl \-i \-c 0x4a0000b
788 Windows can be floated and un-floated by adding or removing the
789 _NET_WM_STATE_ABOVE atom from the _NET_WM_STATE property of the window.
790 This can be achieved by sending a _NET_WM_STATE client message to the
792 For example, the following toggles the floating state of
795 to send the message (assuming 0x4a0000b is the id of the window floated
797 .Bd -literal -offset indent
798 $ wmctrl \-i \-r 0x4a0000b \-b toggle,_NET_WM_STATE_ABOVE
801 Floating windows can also be resized and moved by sending a
802 _NET_MOVERESIZE_WINDOW client message to the root window.
806 to send the message (assuming 0x4a0000b is the id of
807 the window to be resize/moved):
808 .Bd -literal -offset indent
809 $ wmctrl \-i \-r 0x4a0000b \-e 0,100,50,640,480
812 This moves the window to (100,50) and resizes it to 640x480.
814 Any _NET_MOVERESIZE_WINDOW events received for stacked windows are ignored.
818 a HUP signal will restart it.
820 .Bl -tag -width "/etc/scrotwm.confXXX" -compact
821 .It Pa ~/.scrotwm.conf
823 user specific settings.
824 .It Pa /etc/scrotwm.conf
830 was inspired by xmonad & dwm.
836 .Bl -tag -width "Ryan Thomas McBride Aq mcbride@countersiege.com " -offset indent -compact
837 .It Cm Marco Peereboom Aq marco@peereboom.us
838 .It Cm Ryan Thomas McBride Aq mcbride@countersiege.com
839 .It Cm Darrin Chandler Aq dwchandler@stilyagin.com
840 .It Cm Pierre-Yves Ritschard Aq pyr@spootnik.org
841 .It Cm Tuukka Kataja Aq stuge@xor.fi
842 .It Cm Jason L. Wright Aq jason@thought.net